Home Made Basket Ball Love
by LadyxShihoun
Summary: I knew he was more than just talented-perhaps a genius when it came to this sport. Yet I couldn't understand why he had such distaste for it./ OC x Aomine D.
1. Chapter 1

Home Made Basket Ball Love

Season: Winter

One

It was the oddest thing I've ever seen. He was just simply flinging the basketball at the net, no formation, no calculating, and no etiquette of thinking at all. And even odder the ball would go through ever time, he never missed.

His expression held such a deep dispassion, and yet his dark eyes had such a desperate longing that I did not know. Sometimes he'd get into it and dribble the ball while running along the court, laying up, doing formless shots and random dunks until an unknown hope seemingly left his eyes-and he'd continue to fling the ball.

When he was tired of flinging the ball he held it in his hands and stared at it. His eyes were wishing or maybe hoping for something. He was pondering over a question or perhaps some kind of uncertain resolution.

He seemed utterly lost. He closed his eyes in an internal defeat and sighed-his breath created a large foggy cloud into the cold air. I didn't mean to stare for so long, but I was in such awe-I didn't even know what to think.

I knew he was more than just talented-perhaps a genius when it came to this sport. Yet I couldn't understand why he had such distaste for it. An icy breeze brushed past the basketball court, sweeping up dusts of white and tossing it back into the air. He let the ball fall from his grasp, watching it bounce off the concrete court-till it rolled away. He stuffed his hands deep into his coat pockets and left without a word.

* * *

"Oh, you must've saw Aomine" my closest friend, Tetsu, said before taking another sip from the Styrofoam cup holding his hot coco. We were walking home from school together, since our homes are not too far apart, and I had told him of the odd scene I had witnessed yesterday.

"I'm surprised he was attempting to practice…since he never does" Tetsu looked at me, his ice blue eyes were sympathetic. His matching hair blew lightly in the cold wind.

"What you saw was incredibly rare"

"Rare?" he sipped some more hot coco before talking.

"He's one of the Generation of Miracles. He has this love and hate relationship with basketball, and lately, he's kind of hating it more and more" I averted my gaze.

"Is that so…" well, that explains the lost look in Aomine's eyes.

"Sometimes, he even misses games" we stopped at the intersection that would take us our separate ways. The street was eerily deserted; the grey sky gave everything monotonous dark colors. Another breeze swept by, stronger than the last-I had pulled my knitted hat past my ears.

"I forgot to ask…What High School are you attending next year?" Tetsu said; this was our third and last year in middle school. I don't know why he bothered asking, he knew what my answer would be.

"I'll go wherever you go Tetsu" He smiled at my comment.

"Well, I'm going to Seirin High"

"Seirin?" Seirin wasn't a big name school like Touou, Yousen or Rakuzan. In terms of basketball the school was still in the lower status. Why he wanted to attend there was not really my business. And I've promised myself that wherever he goes, I will surely be there.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then, Mana" Tetsu said,

"Yeah…Tomorrow" We went our separate ways.

The town house that I lived in was a few blocks from the intersection. The moment I stepped onto the welcome mat in front of the entrance a ball of fur instantly began rubbing against my leg, purring. I smiled and kneeled to pick up the fluffy mess -that will only respond to Prince- and cradled him in my arms. His dark grey fur was as thick as ever, and his yellow moonstone eyes stared merrily at me. He meowed politely.

"I know I know" I carried the spoiled cat to the kitchen and placed him on the counter while opening a cabinet for a can of tuna. Of course, clumsy me accidentally dropped it on the ground when I tried using the can opener. As I bent to pick it up, I thought of that boy at the basketball court, when he had dropped the ball on the ground. His name was Aomine.

"Hm"

* * *

The next morning I waited for Tetsu at the intersection, so we could walk to school together. I hated our uniforms-specifically the girl uniforms. I hated that we still had to wear skirts, even though it was cold as hell. I wore leggings, but it wasn't enough to keep my teeth from chattering.

"Gosh, I should've just worn the thermals"

"Yeah, you should've" I turned around in surprise-usually I was used to Tetsu's ghostly presence, but sometimes he still manages to scare the skin color out of me.

"Jeez, Tetsu, you're such a transparent" as lame as it sounds the nickname had always been around. When we got to Teiko middle Tetsu walked me to homeroom-he never fails to be a gentleman, even to girls he doesn't date.

I sat at my seat in next to the window fourth from first the desk. As the class filled with students, it got louder. Groups of girls giggled and conversed over the latest things, groups of guys talked about sports; as for me I didn't really get along with everyone.

I'm not really sure what I've done, other than being dark skinned and having a slim and strong cliché curvaceous figure due to my Kenyan heritage-though those were the only inherited genes, every other feature of my body was soulfully Japanese. I knew certain girls, didn't like me due to my record-breaking speed. Basically, other than Tetsu, I had no friends.

I spent most of my time with either alone or with Tetsu. And its not that I don't want to get to know people, for some odd reason that just can't accept me. The teacher eventually walked in and demanded everyone take his or her seat. After attendance school officially began.

My first class was gym. I hated the gym school uniforms so I bought baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt to wear-I don't have a big butt -its actually quite nicely shaped and full- but the last time I wore shorts or spandex guys couldn't stop staring at me and girls started calling me a slut.

Today we were playing dodge ball, pretty simple. As the teachers brought out the balls, I noticed they were different than the usual cushy pale yellow balls we use. These balls were bigger than my head and blood shot red.

When the balls were divided amongst two teams, the game begun. I'm pathetically non-violent, so all I could do was dodge balls-I couldn't stomach actually hitting someone. The balls zoomed past me, and as I avoided them flawlessly my eyes caught sight of familiar dark blue hair, and the same pair of lost eyes. His dark olive-toned skin was glistening sweat as he tagged student after student as if it were second nature to him. His movements were so perfectly agile and graceful; it was like watching someone dance. I had lost all focus in the game, and a ball hit me right on the head-it was an instant knock out.

* * *

_Innocent eyes stared at a pool of blood, two bodies lye there motionless and awfully pale. I tried calling out to them, but they didn't respond. I even got on my knees, soaking my white dress in their blood, and tried to shake them awake. But they wouldn't wake up.  
"Please" I cried, _

"_Please don't leave me" _

I woke with a startled gasp reaching out for the closest thing to me, which happened to be a clump of hair.

"Um…ow" I was staring straight at Aomine, and he was looking at my hand waiting for me to let go.

"S-sorry" I released my grip. He ruffled his hair,

"Feel better?" that's right I got hit in the head by a ball…awkward….

"You brought here me?" he nodded,

"Thank you for staying as well"  
"Well you wouldn't let me leave" my eyes widened a little and my cheeks felt tingly. Aomine stared down at me, baring his dark eyes.

"You kept crying out don't leave me…so I stayed"

* * *

The last school bell of the day rang, echoing throughout hallways and classrooms, as waves of students flooded out of the building. I met Tetsu at our usual spot, under the cherry-blossom tree near the entrance gates.  
"How'd your day go?" Tetsu always asked, sometimes I feel he worries about me too much.

"I got hit in the head with a ball and had to be taken to the nurse" he nodded his head,

"But your okay now?"

"Yeah, Aomine carried me there" Tetsu's eyes brightened, and a smile crept on his lips.

"Oh really" he said it, kind of smug-like. I gave him a cautious look,

"Whatever you're thinking in that transparent brain of yours, don't say it" I said while poking him in the chest. He rolled his eyes.

"Come to basketball practice with me" I lifted a brow. Tetsu never openly invited me to one of his practices before-I thought the coach was strongly and boldly against visitors.

"Why?" Tetsu shrugged his shoulders,

"It's not like you have anything better to do…other than track practice" I shivered from that word, track…I definitely wasn't going there.

"Alright you win" I followed Tetsu to the school gym. It was filled with boys that towered over me-making me feel like an ant just waiting to be crushed.

"Tell the coach you're here to help out, and he'll let you stay" Tetsu said before walking off and leaving me with all of these hormonal colossal beasts. I felt a lot of eyes on me, and I knew exactly why. Ignored the stares and found the coach-an old man wearing the coaches' symbol, a whistle- talking with a petite girl with long pinkish hair and stern but bubbly pink eyes.

"Excuse me" the coach glanced my way,

"What" he said calmly. He towered over me as well and his powerful stare wasn't making me feel any better.

"I'm here to help out" the coach glared at me for a few more minutes. Then a small grin formed on his strong jaw.

"Good! You can help Momoi-" he pointed to the pink-haired girl, who smiled politely at me.

"-Out" Momoi reached out her hand, which I took, and was taken by surprise when she pulled me to her and hugged me tightly.

"Yay! I have a female buddy!"

* * *

The basketball club had over a hundred members -due to this school's reputation for talented basketball players. The team was divided into three strings. The third string being for complete beginners, the second string for potential first-string players, and the first string were the members that played in all the games.

Momoi and I would be working with the first string, and I was happy to see Tetsu with them. He was apart of the Generation of Miracles as well. The coach gave a short lecture to the guys and then patted Momoi on the shoulder,

"They're all yours," he said before walking away. Momoi flashed him a cocky smile. She took the whistle around her neck and blew into it lightly.

"I'm mainly the manager of the team, but every now and then the coach has me lead some of the workouts," she said to me. All eyes were on her as she explained the routine for today.

I examined the male students before me, in total there were only five-including Tetsu. The boy on the far right had crimson hair that was neat and stopped at his ears-his bangs were longer and stopped at the edges of his eyes. His eyes were oddly different colors, one plainly red and the other a pale yellow-a lot like my cat's eyes. He was pretty short compared to Tetsu and didn't seem intimidating at all-but I knew there'd be more of him to see.

The next guy to his left was incredibly tall-like skyscraper tall. His hair was a deep purple and stopped at his shoulders. His expression was bored and lanky. The next person beside him was a blonde with short hair and cute light brown eyes. He looked ready to do anything that was thrown at him. The person beside him had green hair that was also short and his light green eyes were hidden behind square glasses. I noted that his fingers were taped. Beside him was Kuroko. I counted them all together. Shouldn't there be six?

"_I'm surprised he was attempting to practice…since he never does"_

So Aomine was the one missing.

"Before we begin the workout, I'd like to introduce our dear pal…" Momoi paused for a moment, looking to a random space in the air. Then leaned close to me whispering,

"Oh God I don't know your name"

"Mana-" I swiftly said.

"-Our dear pal Mana. She'll be helping us out." I saw Kuroko smile at me.


	2. Chapter 2

Home Made Basket Ball Love

_Two_

I was amazed at how easy the first string players made this workout seem. I knew exactly what it was; it was a method used a lot in Track. My coach called it 'countdown' but Momoi called it the buzzer beater.

Basically there was a series of exercises that you had ten minutes to do-and believe me ten minutes isn't a long time. If you didn't finish the exercises in ten minutes you had to do suicides for five minutes.

Then there'd be a small break, just enough to catch your breath and the workout started all over again-this time you had nine minutes, then eight minutes and so on and so forth-as the time decreased the exercises decreased as well. Tetsu completely blew me away; I never realized how strong and enduring he was.

"Great job guys!" Momoi cheered while walking to the water fountain for a quick drink. I stood next to a stroller stacked with basketballs; the guys came up to it. Tetsu took one and smiled at me.

"How'd I do?" my eyes practically sparkled, I was too impressed.

"Awesome!"

"Whoa Kurokocchi, I didn't know you had a girlfriend" the blonde was the one who spoke; he slung an arm over Tetsu's shoulder and gave him a silly grin.

"We're close friends" I said, passing the blonde a basketball-which he caught with an impressive reflex.

"I'm Kise," he said flashing me a warm, and rather adorable, smile. My brows scrunched, that smile is familiar.

"Murasakibara" the skyscraper player said, placing his enormous hand on my head. I swapped it away, and had to crane my neck way back to see his eyes. He stared down at me.

"Jeez, your massive" Murasakibara smirked.

"Well don't leave me out" we all looked to the green-haired boy with the glasses.

"I'm Midorima" I passed him a ball as well. I looked to the crimson haired boy with the different eye colors. His eyes met mine and a strange spark of annoyance flashed in them.

"Mana Kinjo" Tetsu stared watchfully at the red-haired boy.

"You're the fastest middle school student in this region" I nodded my head nervously, hating that he brought up the topic. The last thing I want to think about is track.

"Wow, that's incredible" Kise conveyed loudly

"But I bet you can't beat me in a race" I gave Kise a courteous grin. Murasakibara and Midorima were watching the red head boy as well. Tetsu's expression went completely blank-to others that is probably normal, but whenever Tetsu's around me he has some kind of facial impression.

I knew something either bad or unexacting would occur. The red head stared firmly at me, as if trying to reach behind the boundaries of my eyes and into my soul. I stared back cautiously-and he didn't seem to like that at all from the way his red eye flickered like a flame. With a dissatisfied grunt he said.

"I will acknowledge you for now but you are not my follower so don't cross the line"

* * *

After basketball practice ended the first string players headed home. I waited for Tetsu to gather his things and sat patiently on the bleachers of the gym not thinking of anything in particular.

"Your not really dating Tetsu, are you?" Momoi said, sitting next to me. I looked her way and was shocked to see jealousy written all over her face. Her brows were raised and her eyes grimaced. Her lips were shut tight.

"No no, I swear we really are just friends. I really do love Tetsu, but there's no way I could imagine dating him-n-not that he isn't good looking. But I just can't see him an any other way than as a friend" Momoi exhaled deeply; apparently she'd been holding her breath.

"Thank God, I really like Tetsu and I was so surprised to see how close you two are. Why hasn't he ever brought you around before? I never even seen you at a game" should I tell her that I'm on the track team? The basketball matches and track meets usually were on the same days, and whenever I did have free time-this was when I used to go to practice-I was dead tired. These past two months Tetsu hasn't had any games.

"Know what, I'm being way out of line. You can tell me whenever you feel comfortable. I mean, we've only known each other for a few hours" it was my turn to exhale.

"Thank you"

"I'm ready, Mana" Tetsu said from out of the blue. He looked to Momoi and smiled. A streak of pure sanguine colored the bridge of her nose.

"It-it-it was really nice-nice meeting you Mana, you-you should come by again" Momoi stuttered seeming completely flustered all of a sudden. So this is how much she likes Tetsu.

As usual I walked home with Tetsu, and for a while there was silence. The clouds had turned a dark grey and the air grew ever colder. It would probably snow soon.

"I'm glad he's accepted you" Tetsu broke the silence. I knew he meant the red head boy.

"Yeah, for now" I said.

"Akashi can be pretty scary sometimes. But he really isn't a bad guy…" anyone that has different colored eyes can't be too good.

"He doesn't scare me. There's just something about him that makes me uneasy" we reached the intersection. A strong gust caught me off guard and I stumbled a little. Tetsu grabbed my arm and held me steady as the wind passed by.

"I guess it'll snow after all," Tetsu said,

"Try not to think about him too much. He's a complicated person"

* * *

I saw that boy again, the one named Aomine. He was in the same place-in the basketball court just half a mile from my house- but this time he was not shooting-or rather flinging-the basketball into the hoop. He was staring at the ball in his hands, in deep concentration. It seemed like he couldn't decide whether to shoot or not.

"What does your heart say?" I said, bringing him out of his daze. He stared at me, his dark eyes paled.

"My heart?" he stared back at the ball.

"You love basketball, don't you?" I held onto the metal fence that kept us apart.

"I…I'm not sure…who are you again?" he didn't say in a mean way, his tone was blank and straightforward yet his eyes were obscured in an icy vapor of confusion.

"Mana...I'm in your class, you took me to the infirmary" Aomine's eyes lightened in recognition.

"Oh! That's right" He ruffled his dark hair, his brows burrowing.

"Your not from here…are you?" I was used to these kinds of questions. My mother is from Kenya and my father is solely Japanese. How the two met, I'd never know.

"I was born here, and have always lived here" Aomine grinned.

"Well, even I am a little mixture of something. I don't know what though" his eyes searched into his mind for an answer but gave up too soon. Without a thought he simply flung the ball and it went into the hoop-flawlessly. His bodily expression loosened.

"I don't mean to intrude. I like to take walks from my house to here, and sometimes, you happen to be here and I just watch" Aomine walked up to the ball and jogged back to the three point line, taking another shot-the ball went in.

"Well I don't come too often, since it's fucking cold" he said. The sound of the ball dribbling on the concrete, oddly enough, was soothing to me. Perhaps I was just used to listening to it, I liked to watch Tetsu practice basketball as well.

But this was different, the sound was like a heartbeat, and my own heart beat, somehow was in tune with it. Aomine started playing with the ball: twirling it around his wrist, rolling it up and down his arm, throwing in to the air catching it with his fingers precisely.

"You have a gift," I said. He laughed nonchalantly,

"Gift?" he spat the word as if it were a curse. The gate to the court was a few feet away from me, and I entered through it-Aomine's eyes followed me.

"Not everyone is born with miraculous gifts. So you should cherish it" he sucked his teeth and flung the ball at the hoop-it went in.

"You don't know what it feels like, to hate something you love" he didn't run up to the ball, as it bounced away on the concrete. I sighed heavily, I knew the feeling too well.

"I love to run" I began, walking up to the abandoned ball and holding it in my hands. It was larger than my head and felt extremely rough but it was really warm.

"Since I was a little girl I always ran. I ran everyday for hours, and the more I ran the more endurance and speed I gained. When I entered Teiko, I joined the track team and became the best instantly-no one on the team could beat me in anything. Whenever we went to meets, I boggled our competitors-and sometimes they'd just give up because they thought they couldn't beat me. I became so good that there was no one worth competing against. I ran for a high school team, one time, and I even blew their minds away. Eventually my own teammates began to despise me. I'm not sure why they do. But I haven't been to practice in two months, and the only time I'm on the track is during meets" I stared directly into Aomine's eyes.

"I do understand your feelings, only I seem to have fallen into a much deeper hatred". His eyes were wide in surprise, as if he finally found what he was looking for all along. I passed the ball back to him, and he flung it at the hoop.

"How unlucky are we?" he said as the ball swished into the net and the white dots slowly fell from the clouds.

"Very"


	3. Chapter 3

_Home Made Basket Ball Love_

_Three_

The darkest day of the year was approaching and all schools were closed for Christmas break. Though there was plenty of cheer and the usual cliché Christmas spirit, and the dark sky was illuminated by millions of fluorescent lights; it was still horribly cold, and the wind did not show any mercy. And for the first time-in a long time- I was sick.

Bronchitis isn't a disease to mess with, you get it from running in the cold and that's exactly what I'd been doing. I knew it was bound to happen, but I didn't know it'd feel so painful.

My lungs felt soggy; every time I coughed my chest burned and gross mucus would come up-and sometimes mucus wasn't the only thing that came up. My skin was hot and sticky from constant sweat-due to a fever. My eyes were droopy and there were black lines under them, cause I couldn't sleep at all unless I took Nyquil.

Basically I felt like crap. Tetsu stayed over my house, he refused to leave-since I live alone. Right now he's making me soup-and Tetsu's a horrible cook, but I give him credit for trying. My furry cat, Prince, was curled up next to me being his usual lazy self and napping for the third time today. I have a TV in my room, but it was Sunday so nothing worth watching was on. I finished three books, so I wasn't in the mood for reading and Tetsu banned me from the computer-cause the screen light gives me headaches. I was stuck, with nothing to do but pet my cat and stare at the ceiling. I hate being sick. My bedroom door creaked open and Tetsu walked in with a bowl of mysteries-that would most likely give me indigestion. He placed the bowl on my lap and a cup of orange juice on the small dresser next to my bed.

"Eat up" he said.

"Do I have to" I groaned.

"Yes"

* * *

Tetsu watched me eat all of his abomination of soup and went to the store to fetch more ibuprofen and cough syrup-he also forced me to take that undeniable slime. I was in the kitchen with Prince curled up in my arms, making hot coco which I'm not supposed to have but this is the only chance I get cause Tetsu banned that as well. There's a window above the kitchen sink, and I looked out of it, watching the tiny white dots blanket everything. I had a sudden urge to go outside, to feel the dots on my skin and taste it on my tongue. Before I knew what I was doing the front door was opened and I was walking barefoot on the snow. The freezing purely fresh air felt amazing.

"You!" a sudden voice said, I twirled around to face an unexpected face. Aomine. Prince had followed me outside and was staring cautiously at the intruder.

"Mana, right? What are you doing outside, and you look like shit" I sucked my teeth.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately" a smirk formed on his lips. He walked up to me, grabbed my arm and led me back inside the town house.

"Coming outside while you're sick isn't going to help at all" he said and earned a roll of my eyes.

"I'll do what I want, and I didn't invite you inside" the front door was already closed though, and Aomine was stripping off his coat and jacket and shoes.

"I'll do what I want," he repeated mockingly adding a smug smile. He began looking around, examining my home, taking in all he could. He smelled the air, and cringed.

"What the fuck is that smell?" I laughed,

"Tetsu's cooking" his eyes lit up,

"Oh! That ghostly boy, huh. Well I never imagined Tetsu being a good cook either. Looks like I'll have to take over" The kitchen was apart of the front entrance, and Aomine made his way further into it, searching through cabinets, scamming the fridge. And I just watched fascinated how such a cute guy ended up in my home. He no longer had that lost look in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" I said, when he placed a bowl full of random ingredients on the marble counter.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" he retaliated. Prince hopped onto the counter, watching carefully what Aomine was doing, like he was going to poison my food or something. I sighed and sat on a chair near the wooden table. In about thirty minutes that horrible scent from before was replaced with a delicious velvety scent that made my mouth water. Whatever he was cooking smelled amazing! Aomine placed a bowl on the table in front of me.

"Try this" and I obeyed instantly. With a spoon in hand, I scooped as much as the silverware could hold and stuffed it in my mouth. My eyes widened as my soul went to heaven-this was more than amazing. This taste went beyond the boundaries of this universe. The chicken broth was seasoned and blended to perfection. The vegies were buttery and sautéed, the rice tasted rich. If this soup was a person, I'd marry it. I knew he could tell from my expression that it was awesome.

"You have a little on the side of your-" he broke his sentence with a swipe of his finger to the side of my lips. I watched him lick his finger and smile. I questioned how he ended up in my home and why I was allowing him to do all of this for me. I'll admit I like being taken care of. But I didn't know Aomine well enough to just let him wander into my domain-but it's not like there's an adult around to point their finger at me.

* * *

When Tetsu came back he couldn't stop smiling and making fun of me. Even though I told him how and why Aomine was in my house, he couldn't help but being a transparent and seeing things for what they are.

"Why are you here anyway, Aomine, shouldn't you be at home?" Tetsu asked.

"When have you ever known me to be at home?" Aomine retorted. Prince meowed loudly, letting everyone know that he was hungry-for the tenth time today. We were all in the living room; sitting on the couch, watching Bruce Willis's Die Hard-it was the only good movie I could find on a Sunday.

"No more food until dinner" I told Prince. I knew he understood but he liked to be a stubborn kitty and paw at my arm until he got what he wanted.

"I feel something in the atmosphere" Tetsu said I smacked his arm and gave him a "drop the discussion" look. Aomine was sitting on the other side of me.

"And Tetsu's right. I appreciate your generosity but I barely know you" I said baring my eyes. Aomine laughed off my words.

"I'll stay till' I feel like leaving" I gasped and looked to Tetsu. The transparent shrugged his shoulders and gave me a what-can-I-do look. But I knew he was messing with me, for some reason he thought I had a thing for Aomine. Prince meowed again and pawed at my arm harder.

"Jeez, you win" I said, but I really just wanted to leave the room. Prince pranced behind me to the kitchen, and I gave him a can of tuna-something he's only supposed to have as dessert.

"This is all you're getting for today, understood" the cat meowed happily and swished its tail against my leg. I left the kitchen and was walking down the hall back to the living room. Just a few feet from the living room entrance, I heard Tetsu and Aomine conversing-and from the serious tone of their voices it sounded juicy.

"-Drop it Tetsu, I don't see her that way" Aomine said,

"So you just walk into a girl's home. Cook for her. Because you're generous? I know you better than that Aomine. I didn't even know you could cook until today" Aomine was silent.

"Mana is a good girl, so don't come in here thinking your gonna-"

"-Of course I wasn't thinking of _that_, that's not what I want!"

"Well what do you want?"

"…"

"Well?"

"…I don't know yet…but I'll figure it out"

"Figure it out soon, cause you're not the only one"

I definitely was invading territory-male territory. I knew I wasn't supposed to hear any of, _all_ that. And what did Tetsu mean he's not the only one? I knew Tetsu didn't like me in a boyfriend kind of way. And what was Aomine trying to figure out? I went back to the kitchen to clear my head, there's no way I could approach them now.


	4. Chapter 4

_Home Made Basket Ball Love_

_Four_

By Christmas morning I felt way better, and it wasn't because of Tetsu. Ever since I allowed Aomine in my house the first time, he continuously came by, everyday. And he'd cook for me, hang out with me, brought over movies and video games to play-though I sucked at video games.

Prince was even warming up to him, and Tetsu never failed to tease me. We're only similar in one way, yet we get along rather well. Tetsu told me that not too many people like Aomine, since his personality is kind of rough. And I do agree with Tetsu, he does get kind of rough, but it's a passive rough and anyone willing to cook for me is welcome in my house. This morning he made blueberry waffles smothered in strawberries bananas and topped with whip cream and walnut bits. Plus, made strawberry banana milkshakes to go with it. Eating it was pure bliss.

"Whoa slow down, you'll choke" I was shoveling pancakes into my mouth like I hadn't eaten in days.

"Buff…if fo goof"

"Swallow than speak, little lady"

"When do we get to open presents?" both Aomine and I jumped in shock. Tetsu was sitting beside me, also eating pancakes.

"When did you get here!" Aomine yelled, still holding his heart.

"I almost had a heart attack!" I swallowed the thoroughly chewed pancakes; it went down my throat painfully rough.

"Dammit Tetsu!" I meant to yell but it mixed too well with laughter.

"You should be home with your family"

"My family isn't big on Christmas, we're Buddhists. And shouldn't you be at home with your family, Aomine?" he said his name suspiciously. Aomine sucked his teeth.

"I haven't gotten presents since my diaper days"

"Ah, I see" Tetsu said with his stoic face. Aomine's brows scrunched.

"Since, Aomine, insists-"

"I'm not insisting anything-"

"-We should open the presents"

"Whatever you say Tetsu" I said, gulping down the milkshake and stood.

"But I get to open mine first"

* * *

Since the day I met Tetsu, I've only gotten presents from Tetsu. There was another person, a woman -who I had considered my mother until she disappeared- who used to bring me presents on Christmas and birthdays.

The new inclusion to my presents was Aomine; apparently, there were a few more presents-not including Tetsu's-under the tree than usual. The presents were color coded, though I knew which were which just by the way they were wrapped. Tetsu's wrapping paper is always one color-since it's the cheapest-mine could be compared to what princesses would get on Christmas day. And Aomine. Well, you have to give him credit for trying. All the blue presents were Tetsu's, lavender mine, and red for Aomine.

"Open mine first" Aomine said, handing me a small, horribly wrapped, box. I took it and tore off the paper, opened the box and gasped. A silver chain held an ornament; a gold heart with diamond wins protruding from the sides.

"Its lovely" I said, with a wide, bashful, smile.

"Let me put it on" Aomine said taking it out the case. I held my hair up as he put it around me neck.

"The atmosphere…I feel something" I sucked my teeth, Aomine laughed.

"This is really expensive looking, Aomine. You didn't have to spend so much on me, its not like I'm your girlfriend" Tetsu smugly smirked; Aomine gave him a shut-it look.

"I know but you deserve nice things"

"Very nice things" Tetsu added, handing me his present.

* * *

We spent most of our time wondering around Tokyo, in the cold, sight seeing the Christmas decorations. Afterwards we bought a few slices of pound cake and headed to the cemetery.

"Why are we going to a cemetery?" Aomine said

"For the anniversary" Tetsu answered,

"Of my parents death" I finished

"…Oh" I chuckled lightly,

"They died a long time ago"

"But, still-"

"I didn't know Aomine was so sentimental," Tetsu conveyed, which earned a growl.

"I am not sentimental!"

"Its okay Aomine, I understand that this is a difficult topic for you"

"But-I-"

"-Guys, we're here" the cemetery went on for acres and was completely fenced in by huge evergreen bushes. The gates were usually sealed off on holidays, but since today is my parents' anniversary, the gatekeeper makes an exception.

Their graves were pretty simple, just flat white marble implanted into the grass, engraved with their names and day of their deaths-and the last words they said to me. "Our Love is Forever". Aomine became deadly quite while me and Tetsu began to eat the cakes. My mom and I used to eat cake in front of my grandfather's grave-she said doing this would let his spirit know that even though he's gone, we're still enjoying ourselves. After eating the cakes we sat in silence for a while, until Aomine started whistling annoyingly-I guessed this was his way of saying, "let's go, now". Tetsu went back home and Aomine followed me home.

"Why are you always here? Go home" I said as Prince greeted me at the front door.

"Don't want to" Aomine retorted, walking inside and taking off his shoes and coat as if he lived here.

"Why not?"

"Don't want to"

"That's not a good enough excuse!" Prince began to rub against Aomine's leg and purr lightly,

"Not helping Prince!" He picked up the fur ball and scratched behind Prince's ear (his favorite spot to be scratched). Prince glared at me as if saying he-shall-stay.

* * *

Prince, who suddenly turned traitor on me, wouldn't let me kick Aomine out. So we sat on the couch watching random Christmas specials on TV. I was heated! I understood that we were friends and all, but a girl needs her space-especially on such an important day. My parents' anniversary meant a lot to me, and I always spent most of this day alone-even Tetsu allowed me the privacy. But Aomine. He must think he's **real** special just cause Prince accepts him.

"Are you okay?" Aomine said out of the blue, I tried to strike him with my dagger eyes

"What the hell do you think?" he frowned at my question,

"Geez, don't need to get all bitchy" I think I popped a vain,

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING BITCHY!" I shouted, Prince jumped off my lap.

"Get out of my house!" Aomine jumped up as well,

"NO!" you know when those teakettles start screaming and the lid starts to pop up a little from the boiling steam-well my lid just popped off. I tackled him, and we tumbled to the floor. At first it was just wrestling, but of course he's stronger, so he pinned me to the floor, staring down at me with victory dancing in those eyes.

"Hah! Got you!" he was incredibly close to my face, his breath tickled my lips and his eyes shifted from victorious to a sudden-and dangerous-lust.

"A-Aomine, your…"

"Too close" he said

"So what?" my eyes widened, he was being serious. My cheeks were burning, my legs trembled. My heart was trying to jump out of my chest; just breathing seemed to be difficult.

"Aomine" I breathed his name, and his lips caught those words.


	5. Chapter 5

_Home Made Basket Ball Love_

_Five_

I ran out of the house when Aomine kissed me. Not looking back and not knowing particularly where to go-I just ran and ran and ran. The sky was black by the time I stopped from exhaustion, I had no idea where I was-and based off of the dark, eerie, ghetto-like, surrounding it was no where good.

Thank god my brain told me to put on my sneakers, but sadly I wasn't in my right mind to grab my coat-or at least a sweater. And it was freezing. I took a step, and a distant growl echoed throughout the night sky. Another step, a loud screech, another step and a trash can fell over. The sounds of danger played with me as I walked through this unknown place, searching for a way out.

My nerves were on edge, I felt like just the wind would make me flip out. Of all things I could've done I had to run out the house-**my house. **That damn bastard, what the hell was he thinking! All the days he had the chance to kiss me and he picks today.

Freaking Bastard. My anger was gradually drowning out my anxiety, making me once again unaware of my surroundings for a split second when I ram into a wall. I went down, hard, and looked up bewildered, when it wasn't a wall I ran into but a very big guy. And that guy was Murasakibara. He was holding a ton of random snacks in one arm.

"Mana?" he said my name as if I were an anomaly, his eyes squinted as if trying to decipher whether he was seeing things.

"Hi, Mu-chan" his eyes lightened up when I said the cute nickname I gave him, proving that I was the right Mana. He held out a hand and I grabbed it-easily being pulled up to my feet by his strength alone.

"You shouldn't be out here" of course he would point of the obvious. He took of his coat and handed it to me. I thanked him and put it on-the coat extended past my knees and the sleeves went way past my fingers. But its warmth, his warmth, was nice.

"Come" he walked past me and headed down the street, deeper into the danger zone. But I followed him. Something about Murasakibara let me know that he wasn't a force to be reckoned with-not only is his height intimidating, but he gives off this threatening vibe (though I don't think he realizes it). He led me to an apartment building that looked like it was run by crack heads.

"Um…" I didn't want to offend him by saying what I felt.

"Don't worry Mana, I'm here," he said placing his colossal hand on my head. His apartment was on the second floor, numbered sixteen. He opened the door and we went inside, which looked way better than the outside. Not including the kitchen and living room there were only two other rooms. The walls were a nice shade of lavender, the kitchen a pale creamy yellow. A few leather couches surrounded a plasma screen.

"Sit" he pointed to the couch, and I obeyed. After a few minutes he brought me a bowl of potato chips and orange soda. And I adore orange soda.

"Thanks!"

"Care to explain why your wandering around outside…alone" I sipped the soda and ate some potato chips, trying to come up with an excuse-and thankfully my brilliant brain was able to.

"I was jogging outside and a strange man started chasing me. When I finally lost him, I got lost" the perfect excuse/lie. He nodded his head but I couldn't tell whether he accepted the lie.

"You should call your parents, let them know your okay"

"I live alone, my parents are dead" his expression didn't wavered.

"Oh…what about your guardian?" my heart skipped a beat, there was no way, even if I were dying, would I ever call that devil.

"Not around, nor would care" I responded as calmly as I could, but thinking about that man made my pulse skyrocket. Fortunately the orange soda acted as a sedative to my irritation.

"I'll walk you home…tomorrow. Its not safe at night" don't need to tell me twice.

"Where are your parents?" I asked, before popping more chips into my mouth.

"Working"

"Working? On Christmas?" Murasakibara smirked,

"They own a bakery, it's really busy on holidays. I just finished my shift"

"You can cook!" I said it as if someone had finally saved me from a deserted island.

"Not as good as mom…are you hungry?" I nodded hopefully, causing him to chuckle…rather cutely.

"Hold on, I brought back a pie" he was holding a pie in that large stack of snacks?

* * *

That pie…that apple pie…was the best apple pie I will ever taste. I never done drugs, but the way I feel about this pie has to be the same way addicts feel about drugs. The flavor was beyond understanding; my mere human tastes couldn't fathom such art. I started crying, I was so moved, and Murasakibara looked at me in a phenomenal kind of way.

"You like it?" there he goes again, pointing out the obvious.

"Mmmhhmmm" I was chewing the pie slowly not wanting the ecstasy to end.

"It was the last pie I made before my shift ended" oh my god, if his pie is this good I'll explode eating his mother's. I swallowed the pie,

"You're hands are magical" he laughed at me again, and it was quite lively-the liveliest I've seen him-my cheeks warmed up.

"Interesting" he said,

"Hm, what's interesting?" he never answered the question.

Murasakibara let me sleep on his bed and he pulled out a futon from under it. It was kind of strange sleeping in the same room with a guy, but I was sure Mu-chan wouldn't pull any strange "stunts". My father taught me Jujutsu so I'm more than capable of handling myself (though it'd still be scary cause he's so huge). And though his height and aura can be daunting he really is a gentle giant.

"Comfy?" Murasakibara said,

"Is this okay? Your parents won't mind?" he laughed at me-why does he keep laughing at me?

"They'll be too tired to notice" what wonderful parents. I snuggled under the large cotton blanket-it gave off a strong musky scent; Tetsu doesn't smell like anything. That thought made me giggle lightly, even his smell is absent.

"What?"

"The cologne you use smells nice"

"Oh…go to sleep"

* * *

The next morning, just as Mu-chan said, his parents were knocked out. After eating breakfast-cereal and milk-we left the apartment complex and headed out of the danger zone. The bus station wasn't far from the complex; I lived near the school so it was about a thirty-minute ride. I had run out at least ten miles last night. When we reached the town house the front door wasn't locked, if Aomine was still here I'd punch him for real this time. Instead Prince rushed up to me, utter grief in those dark eyes, and jumped into my arms meowing crazily.

"I know I know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rush out like that, you must've been so worried"

"…So what you said yesterday _was_ a _lie_"…uh-oh.

"Uh…" I stared at him and flinched at his annoyed expression-it reminded me of an angered beast. Without another word he turned and left. Prince was staring after him probably wandering who the hell was that guy. I didn't even thank him properly. I ran back out of the house, watching him walk down the sidewalk, hands deep in his pockets.

"Thank you! I really appreciate it! And I'm sorry I lied! Please forgive me!" Murasakibara stopped, and turned to me. He was still frowning but his eyes had lightened up. Prince pawed out my face, ruining the mood. Murasakibara, for a big guy, was quick- he had walked up to me in seemingly a few strides and placed his massive hand on my head.

"Lie to me again and I'll crush you," he said it playfully, and if he were any smaller I would've laughed it off. Prince hissed dramatically-as if he had a chance against this giant.


	6. Chapter 6

_Home Made Basket Ball Love_

Six

Tetsu came over late at night for new years eve as well as Murasakibara. As for Aomine, I haven't seen him since I ran out my house. Honestly I wasn't mad at him-I was a bit shocked that he did something so drastic (and made it extremely obvious that he _liked_ me). But I still viewed us a great friends, no matter how rough his personality gets.

"If you want him so badly why don't you call him," Tetsu said, out of the blue.

"You have an unattractive thinking face," Mu-chan said, and I rolled my eyes at that. Tetsu always knows when I'm thinking, well anyone would know. I tend to stare at a certain space for a long time with my lips slightly parted.

"I don't have his number though, and I don't _want_ him, we're not a couple" Tetsu gave me a yeah-right look and continued to eat the pastries Murasakibara brought over. Prince padded over to the giant, rubbing himself against his ankles and purring-I never realized how easily Prince warmed up to people. Murasakibara picked him up and cradled the pile of fur in one arm.

"He keeps texting me, he's scared of talking to you, but he won't tell me why…did something happen?" uh-oh, Tetsu had that smug look, otherwise his I-can-guess-what-you've-been-up-to expression. My cheeks immediately heated up-thank god he can't see my intense blush due to my skin color.

"We had an argument, that's all"

"Here, use my phone" Tetsu held out his phone, which I reluctantly took. I swiftly went through the contacts lists, and easily found Aomine's name. I opened a draft and began texting.

**Get over here before your woman gets taken**

I sent the text, quietly giggling evilly to myself. I remembered that conversation Tetsu had with Aomine about some other guy liking me-if Aomine truly liked me he'd be over here in a flash.

"Can he eat this?" Mu-chan asked, holding custard away from Prince-who was reaching to it.

"Give him a little piece" I take a jelly filled doughnut out of the large bowl of pastries and stuff it in my mouth.

"You'll choke if you keep doing that," Tetsu said, earning a sharp look from me. He hates it when I stuff food in my mouth, but when it tastes this good I can't help it. The doorbell rang, Tetsu opened the door and Aomine rushed into the house.

"Where is that fucking bastard!" he yelled running into the kitchen, and upon realizing that Murasakibara was there, rushed up to him and grabbed a bundle of his shirt. Prince jumped out of Mu-Chan's arm.

"What the hell?" Mu-chan stared wild beast eyes at Aomine, whom stared back with eyes just as savage. The mood was pretty intense, but my laughter broke the chain. Everyone looked at me with strange eyes-like I was transforming into a monkey kind of expression.

"Err…Mana?" Tetsu tried, but I held up a hand, indicating I was okay.

"So its true then, you like me" I said/laughed, Aomine's cheeks turned instantly the darkest shade of red.

"…I…but…" he looked to Tetsu for guidance, but Tetsu happened to be looking out of the window. He then turned to Murasakibara, but he was also "coincidently" looking out of the window. Aomine looked on the verge of exploding, and in an odd way he did.

"YES, YES I DO LIKE YOU, AND YOUR GOING OUT WITH ME WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" he yelled. The room was awkwardly silent, for what felt like hours, but when I checked the time on the stove, it had only been thirty seconds.

"Well…be glad I like you too, otherwise your humiliation would be in vain" I retorted. Tetsu smiled widely, Murasakibara let out a loud "jeez". As for Aomine, his expression was so happy, as if he won the million-dollar lottery.


	7. Chapter 7

_Home Made Basket Ball Love_

_Season: Spring_

_ Seven_

It spread around the school community like wildfire when Aomine and I showed up in school, after Christmas break, holding hands. I definitely felt numerous evil glares from girls, but I could care less. Momoi was the only girl happy of my relationship. Turned out her and Aomine are very good friends, since elementary school.

"Just say the word hurt and I'll be on him Chuck Norris style," she had said to me. Tetsu "knew it" was bound to happen; I don't know why I couldn't see it coming. I convinced Aomine to go to at least a few practices during the week, and of course in return I had to go to Track practice as well-which sucked. The team captain was literally hostile towards me-while everyone got away with easy workouts I had to do workouts that made me feel like my body was tearing apart. Sometimes I would break my deals and go watch Tetsu's practices. When Kise found out Aomine and I was dating he had a fit.

"Why wasn't I aware of this earlier!" Kise yelled out,

"As if you had a chance," Midorima said, and caused everyone to laugh-while poor Kise mentally cried. At first, I thought Kise was the guy Tetsu was talking about, but when I confronted him about it, Tetsu told me it wasn't him. Who could it be then? To be honest, I was really curious. I knew a lot of guys liked me, but the majority only like me for physical purposes. Tetsu would never reveal someone liked me unless that person seriously _liked_ me. The only guys I'd ever hung out with were the ones on the first string. Other than that I was clueless. I thought of Murasakibara, and I haven't found a reason of why it wouldn't be him. And it could be Midorima or even Akashi-though I doubt it strongly.

* * *

I met him at the basketball court, the place I first met him, and the place we recognized each other. He was behind me, the ball in my hands, and as I shoot, he said, "miss" and the ball hit the rim of the hoop and bounced back towards us.

"You jinx" I said, picking up the ball.

"Let me see the ball" I hand it to him, and with one hand he flung it, and it goes in-flawlessly.

"That's irrational"

"There's nothing irrational about it! It doesn't matter what form you use to shoot the ball, as long as it leaves your fingertips a certain way it will always go in"

"Gimme the ball" I take it from him and flung it.

"You can't just fling it, I told you-"

"-Look! I'm not a basketball prodigy; all I know how to do is run. I can run laps around you, and you can score a gazillion hoops flawlessly" Aomine glared at me,

"Psh, you can't outrun me" my jaw slackened-

"Yes I can!"

"Race you back to your house!"

"Your on!" and we took off. He was in the lead at first, but any runner will tell you never give your all in the beginning. Always save your energy until the last minute, when everyone else is too tired for any extra boost of energy and then take off. As the town house was coming into sight, I immediately broke into a sprint, passing Aomine-and as the cliché goes leaving him in the dust. I reached the house first.

"Dammit, I wanna re-match" Aomine said in between deep breaths.

"Nope, I proved my point" I said, handing him a water bottle as he sat down at the kitchen table. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto his lap. Again, thank god for my lovely brown skin, my blush was intense.

"Can I kiss you?" he said a slight blush coloring his cheeks, as for me I felt like my face was on fire.

"You've done it before why ask no-mmmm" he lips grasped mine, roughly at first. But as I kiss back it turned passionate and soft. His hand cups my cheek, and he kiss deepened. I moaned lightly, causing him to turn savage and ram his tongue into my mouth-and I pulled away.

"Whoa! I'm not ready for that kind of…stuff" Aomine sucked his teeth and frowned,

"Why not?"

"Doesn't matter why" he wrapped an arm around my waist and sighed.

"I won't force you…unless you want me to-"

"NO, and your not staying over here after dark anymore" He chuckled,

"Why not?"

"Just because we're dating doesn't give you any right to be all over me" he sucked his teeth again.

Aomine left at exactly eight o'clock, right when the sun went down. As a girl, who lived alone, I felt it was my responsibility to be vigilant of my innocence. As much as I want Aomine to hold me and kiss all over me, and other things that I'm too young to be thinking about, I continuously remind myself that I am not that kind of girl. I will not lose myself over a boy.

A very attractive, strong, smart, boy; Prince cuddled next to me in bed. He's the only male I'll allow this much contact-though now that I'm actually dating my first boyfriend that moral could change. And that should be the least of my worries. I should be worrying about how my uncle would react to me having a boyfriend, but that man hasn't talked to me since the time I had to go to the hospital for pneumonia.

I shouldn't feel this way, but I'm glad we don't talk; the guy is the devil. I wished his ex-wife were here for me, the only woman of his that I ever considered a mother figure-other than my own mother. She lived in this town house with me, right until I entered middle school. Then she told me she would be gone forever, and never gave me a reason why. And I knew it had to do with him, even so I wished she could've taken me with her.


	8. Chapter 8

_Home Made Basket Ball Love_

Eight

"Where are we going?" I asked, for the tenth time.

"Ask me again and I'll lick your ear" Aomine said, and he was really irked since the third time I asked. We'd been on the bullet train for nearly an hour and I still had no clue where this guy was taking me. The only good part was that he brought Momoi-but she didn't know where we were going either.

"Come on, just tell us already" she whined. Aomine clenched his teeth,

"Stop asking, or Mana gets it" he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him, his lips close to my ear.

"Okay okay we won't ask anymore"

"Good" after an hour of curiosity sucking the life out of me, we finally reached our destination. On the way out of the train station I saw the words in big bold letters on a sign.

"We're going to Toshimaen amusement park!" I looked at him and as he smiled I cheered.

"What? Seriously that's where we're going!" Momoi said, perplexed.

"Know wonder you woke me up so early, this place gets ridiculous crowds" we took a taxi to the entrance of the park, and I was super excited until I saw the long, long, long admission lines.

"No way" I sulked.

"It'll take hours to get through that"

"That's why I already bought the tickets" Aomine said flashing the tickets in front of our faces-causing our girly eyes to light up.

"You're the best!" we jumped him at the same time, in an attempt to hug him.

"The Fuck? knock it off!"

* * *

Toshimaen Park was massive, and filled with all the elements of a thrilling an amusement park. Roller coasters, water rides, concerts, random thrilling rides, delicious food, prize booths, and so much more that not even a day is enough. Having entered the park we stood in place, staring at all the possible things to do, but not sure where to start.

"And we only have a day" I said,

"Two days, actually" Momoi and I stared at him with lemur eyes.

"Two days?" we say in unison.

"I booked a hotel room not too far from here, that's why I asked Momoi to come, I didn't think you'd be comfortable, err, staying in a room with me overnight." wow, he's more thoughtful then I give him credit for. I made a mental note to text Tetsu to take care of Prince for the next few days.

"So that's why we brought extra clothes, but we left our stuff in the cab!" Momoi said

"He works for the hotel, he'll make sure our stuff goes straight to the room"

"But aren't you too young to book-"

"The manager owes me a favor"

"…Whoa" everything was becoming clearer for her.

"How the hell are you affording all this?" I said, and immediately regretting I asked. Its none of my business how he got the money, it's the generosity that counts. I tried to take back the comment, but he chuckled and lightly pinched my cheek.

"It's called a job sweet heart" I blushed and swiped his hand away.

"Awww, you guys are so cute" Momoi said/squealed.

* * *

We hit the water rides first; the other rides would dry us off later.

"When he told us to wear our bathing suites, I was so sure we were going to the beach" I said while taking off my clothes.

"I thought so too" I looked at Momoi and my jaw nearly dropped at the size of her boobs-and to think she's only a middle school student. Her bikini revealed way too much of her bottom and cleavage. As for mine-I guess I'm not too modest either. But my two-piece covered a lot more than what Momoi was showing off.

"Aomine's gonna be pissed" I said, and we both laughed. And he was quite pissed when we left the changing room, instantly receiving stares and whistles from guys passing by. Some even had the nerve to stop and try to converse-but Aomine shut that down real quickly.

"What the hell is wrong with you two!" he was blushing madly, and we couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Its just a little skin, can't handle it?" I said with a playful expression. Aomine smirked and swiftly pulled me into a kiss.

"The real question is can you handle my desire" his voice was low and deep and lustful. I wanted to melt right into his arms and let him have his way. No, no you can't think that way, I mentally told myself. Remember, advocate for your own innocence.

"You should've booked two rooms, I don't want to be up all night" Momoi conveyed, causing me to give her the evil eye.

* * *

We rode some of the water rides and decided to splash around in the pool before eating lunch and then going off into the main park for the real thrill.

"Hey watch this!" Momoi said, she was running off of the diving board and doing a double flip before diving into the deep end. I waited for her to rise out of the water to compliment her flip, but decided to rush out of the pool to grab a towel upon seeing the bra part of her two-piece floating on top of the water. Just as I was at the edge of the pool ready to cover her up, Momoi popped up to the surface.

"That was awesome" she said,

"Momoi, look down and come over here really quick" I said; she obeyed. And her face turned darker than crimson.

"Oh my god" she wrapped her an arm around her breasts and swam towards me. With the towel wrapped around her, I dived back into the pool to retrieve her missing piece. Right when I was going to grab it, another hand reached out to do the same. I looked up at the guy who had the balls to do something so daring, and stared right into Kise's eyes.

"Manacchi!" he yelled, startled.

"Oh, hey Kis-" he suddenly covered my mouth, and looked around his expression bewildered. My brows scrunched from his action.

"Sorry, sorry, its just that. I don't want too many people to know I'm here" he uncovered my mouth.

"Why?" he laughed, and upon realizing that I wasn't laughing and my question was serious, his jaw dropped.

"What? You don't know?... I'm a model" oh, well that explains why girls like to hang out around the outside of the school gym during basketball practice.

"Whose here with you?" he asked, wiggling his brows.

"Momoi and Aomine" he frowned upon hearing Aomine's name. I giggled,

"We're going to be here for a few days"

"What a coincidence, so am I, and I brought Midorima-cchi with me" Kise pointed to where he was, lying on a beach towel under an umbrella keeping the sun's rays from tanning his skin.

"Hey! Midorima-cchi!" he sat up from hearing his name, searching for the voice that called his name; when he saw us, he rolled his eyes and lay back down.

"Yep, that's definitely Midorima" I said.

* * *

Aomine didn't like the idea of Kise and Midorima tagging along with us-they were even staying in the same hotel. But he got over it, and it turned out it was pretty fun with them around.

"Try this Mana" Midorima said, holding out a spoon full of, what looked like, colorful dots. I opened my mouth as he put the spoon on my tongue and closed it. I felt the dots melt into creamy deliciousness.

"Mmm, what's this?" I asked as the rest of it went down my throat.

"Dippin' Dots"

"Buy me some"

"Already did" he held out another cup full of Dippin' Dots. I thanked him and took the cup. As he retracted his arm I noticed he had on a bracelet with a small silver heart charm on it.

"That's really cute" I said, pointing to the bracelet. He held up it to my eye level.

"The horoscope said to wear it today", horoscope? He's in to that kind of stuff?

"Why?" he was quiet for a moment. I kind of looked like he was contemplating whether to tell my why.

"Midorima, Mana, Momoi check this out!" we turned to Kise, who was with Aomine, near the merry-go-round.

"I won rock-paper-scissors, and now Aomine has to ride it!" Momoi instantly burst out laughing. I couldn't help but laugh too; even Midorima chuckled a little.


End file.
